


strictly professional

by blindinglights



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Athletic Trainer Alexei Mashkov, Inspired by Art, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 02:10:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindinglights/pseuds/blindinglights
Summary: Kent Parson gets injured right after the start of the season and Alexei Mashkov ends up assigned to help him get back on the ice.





	strictly professional

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gizellefromhell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gizellefromhell/gifts).



> This was written for the OMGCP Reverse Bang! I wrote this for [goldenknighter's](http://goldenknighter) wonderful art! You can find their art right [here](https://goldenknighter.tumblr.com/post/185374592091/i-participated-in-the-omgcp-reverse-bang). Thank you to KoreChthonia for the beta!

“Hey, Alexei!” someone shouts from down the hallway. 

Alexei stops walking and lets them catch up to him. "Hey, they’re going to have you work with Kent,” he says. “He’s week to week right now, but we’re hoping with you working with him he’ll get onto the ice quicker.” 

“You can not force it,” Alexei tells him. “He get better with time.”

“And help,” the guy points out. 

“Yes,” Alexei says. “I work with him, help him, but still takes time.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the guy says with a wave of his hand. “Kent’s taking the day off today. Well he’s been off since everything happened at Saturday’s game. But tomorrow, 10am, he’ll start working with you. Sound good?”

Alexei nods, agreeing to it. He’ll meet Kent in the trainer's room tomorrow and start the long process of working to get him back on the ice as soon as possible. Knowing hockey players, he’d want to rush it, which only means pushing himself too much and getting on the ice too soon. It only leads to another injury and more time off the ice. Now to just get him to understand that. 

\--

When Alexei had originally heard about Kent’s injury, it was said that Kent was week to week. That doesn’t end up being the case at all. Kent’s timetable goes from week to week to “up to 6-8 weeks” that he’d be missing. He knows this news is only going to sour Kent’s attitude even more before they meet, but having an idea just how long Kent’s expected to be out and knowing the severity of it will only help Alexei to be able to treat Kent’s injury better, so that they can be on the right track to get Kent back out there.

Sure enough, the first thing out of Kent’s mouth when he hobbles into the room the next day is, “So you’re going to get me back on the ice by next week, right? Because this sucks and I can’t miss a lot of games.”

“Six to eight weeks,” Alexei reminds him. “Mean six to eight weeks. No rush this.”

“Hey,” Kent says, affronted and pointing one of his crutches at him. “The team needs me.” 

“Team needs you healthy.” Alexei motions for him to sit down. “You rush, you go back out and get hurt again.” 

Kent sighs. “Fine.”

“You know I’m right, Parson.” Alexei smiles. “So just do as I say. We work on this, you get better, and you get back out there, okay?” 

\--

When it comes to the Aces, Alexei more or less has a complicated relationship. On one hand, before he got the job, he didn’t really like the Aces at all. But on the other hand, they were a team that offered him a job right after college, so he wasn’t going to turn them down based on the fact that he wasn’t a fan. It’s still a career as an athletic trainer in the NHL and his team preferences don’t really matter. 

And even if he thinks Kent Parson is a little bit of an asshole - an attractive asshole - he’s still going to help him get back on the ice. In the end, it’s his job. Plus Alexei would never do his job poorly for the sake of team loyalties. 

Sometimes it makes him wonder, though, when Kent is being a pain in the ass when Alexei is only telling him to do stretches before they get started. 

“Aren’t you supposed to help me with my stretches?” Kent asks. 

Alexei rolls his eyes. “Just sit on the mat.”

Kent smirks. “You gonna finally help me with these?” 

Alexei positions himself at Kent’s feet. He taps Kent on the knee. “Stretch leg all the way out,” he informs him as he grabs ahold of Kent’s foot. 

Kent’s still smiling down at him but Alexei keeps his focus on just stretching Kent’s leg out, testing the flexibility of his knee. When Alexei pushes Kent’s leg toward his chest, it ends up forcing him to look up at Kent’s face. He’s still grinning like a cat who got the cream, but there’s a hint of pain on his face.

“Hurt?”

“Helps that I like your face,” Kent says, grimacing through the pain. 

“Flirt with trainer does not help leg heal faster.” 

“No,” Kent says. “But it sure makes things easier.” 

“Flirting makes this easier?” 

“No,” Kent replies. “Looking at you does, though.” 

Alexei can feel the blush on his cheeks, but he’s supposed to be helping Kent, not flirting back. Instead, Alexei ends up releasing Kent’s leg out too quickly in his surprise at Kent’s comment and Kent makes a sound of pain. It happens so fast he isn’t aware he did it until Kent’s swearing and grabbing at his leg.

“Holy shit,” Kent breathes out, falling flat onto his back. His hand is holding onto his leg and Alexei is staring frozen down at him. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Alexei says after a moment, getting up to get some ice out of the fridge. Kent puts a hand on his arm to stop him from getting up, though. 

“It’s cool,” Kent says. “It’s okay. Hurt a little, kind of a surprise more than anything? But let’s keep going.” 

Alexei stares down at him, still feeling a little bad, but they continue doing the exercises. Kent thankfully doesn’t make a comment about it.

\--

The rehabilitation continues. After a week, Alexei is used to Kent’s obvious flirting, and there’s also a little progress to Kent’s injury. Kent still can’t go out on the ice, but Alexei is confident that in the next week or two that Kent will be able to skate again. Alexei tells Kent this one day as they’re working through exercises. Kent’s entire face lights up.

“I thought you said six weeks, at least!”

“Progress,” Alexei points. “Don’t mean you go back on ice now.” 

Kent seems to deflate a little at that. “Doesn’t seem like progress then.”

“It is,” Alexei tells him, patting him comfortingly on his leg. He has Kent pick his leg up to his chest and hold it there for a ten seconds before having him set it back down again. “I think another few weeks you can go on ice by yourself. Maybe week after that practice with team.” 

“I thought medical team clears me.” 

“I am medical team,” Alexei says, raising an eyebrow up at him. “What you think I am?” 

“Person who makes me work out?” 

“No,” Alexei says with a shake of his head. “I work with you so you can get better. Part of medical team. I clear you, doctor clear you, then you go back out.” 

“Right,” Kent says. “Okay, clearly I wasn’t very informed of everything.”

“You never get hurt before?” Alexei asks him. 

Kent shrugs. “I have, but it was just minor things. Nothing like this.” 

“So first time working with trainer?” 

“This much? Yes.” Kent shrugs again. “I don’t really pay attention to all of this, I just play hockey.” 

“My job is to get you out there soon as I can,” Alexei says. “I do my best. I know it sucks to be stuck not playing.” 

“How do you know? You just work with us when we’re injured.”

Alexei gives him a sharp look. “I use to play. When you hurt, it sucks. All you want is to play, and if you cannot? It worst.” 

“Oh,” is all Kent manages to say. The rest of the session is in silence. Whenever Alexei manages to catch glimpses of Kent’s face, is to see him looking like he’s deep in thought. He at least does what Alexei asks of him, and that’s all that he can ask for, in the end.

\--

“So,” Kent starts with when he walks into their next session. He pauses for a moment, like he’s almost unsure if he should ask the question at all, which is new for Kent, who more often than not will tell you what he’s thinking whether he cares what you think or not. It startles Alexei enough that he stops what he’s doing to look over at him. 

“So,” Kent starts again, “why did you stop playing hockey?”

“We move here when I was 15, I play great hockey and USHL want to draft me when I turn 16. Let me play with them, maybe get to be able to go into NHL later. I decide not what I want. I think about it, you know, and I think maybe I just want to help players? So I go to university, learn to be athletic trainer.” He motions to the room. “And here I am.” 

“Just like that?” 

“Just like that,” Alexei agrees. “Love hockey, but pro is not for me.” 

“Wow,” Kent says. “I can’t relate.” 

“Not decision everyone make, but right for me.” 

“Yeah,” Kent says. “If you’re happy.”

Alexei smiles, nudging Kent in the side to start doing his stretches. “I am. Like helping players. Most rewarding job, you know? I get you back out there, you help team win, is good.” 

\--

Even if he’s pretty sure he shouldn’t, he still has a small piece of Falconers merch on his desk. It’s nothing big anyway, just a puck signed by Jack Zimmermann that his parents sent him his first week as the Aces athletic trainer. They went to one of the practices, met Jack afterward, and managed to get a puck signed for their son who is a “big fan”. Thankfully they didn’t say what said son does. Jack probably thinks he’s just some kid who couldn’t get out of going to class. Nobody usually notices it. It’s mostly just so Alexei shows the smallest bit of support for his favorite team, even if he’s technically in enemy territory. But of course Kent notices it. It takes him a few weeks, but he eventually does, and he does so with his mouth open in shocked betrayal. 

“You,” Kent starts off, words slow, careful. “You like the Falconers.” 

Alexei shrugs. “I like the Falconers. Aces okay.” 

“Aren’t you contractually obligated to like the Aces?” 

“Is kind of like Bruins player,” Alexei says. “You know, guy who tweets he hates Bruins but they still draft him.” 

Kent makes a face.

“But I don’t say mean things on Twitter,” Tater adds. “So little different.” 

“You like the Falconers.”

“Yes.”

“God.”

“Prefer just Alexei.” 

“But seriously, isn’t that against some rule?” Kent asks, sounding more curious than accusatory. 

“Was not in rules I got when hired,” Alexei says. “Is my good luck charm, so I keep on my desk.” 

Kent shakes his head, looking like he wants to comment further, but surprisingly he just looks at the puck again and then looks away. 

It’s only when Kent walks out of the room twenty minutes later after their session, throwing a quick glance at it, that Alexei remembers Kent used to know Jack, used to play with him until things changed. He wonders if Kent recognizes the signature. 

\--

At the third week mark, Kent walks in. He doesn’t have the crutches now and he’s walking a little better, and Alexei is finally confident that he can get cleared for on-ice activity. They go through the motions of what they do every session, starting with the stretches and then going into the different therapies on his leg. There’s a lot more flexibility in his leg, and he can move it without grimacing as if it takes him too much to do. It’s promising.

Halfway through the session, Alexei says, “I think I clear you for ice now.” 

Kent freezes mid-exercise. He’s staring wide-eyed at Alexei, as if Alexei holds the world in his hands right now. That’s probably exactly what he thinks.

“Really?” Kent asks. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Alexei says. “You moving better, so I think you ready.” 

“Would these stop?” Kent asks then. “Would I just be on the ice from now on, or?”

“No,” Alexei replies. “You still come here, we still work on leg, but you just have added ice time.”

Kent lets out a breath at that, looking relieved. “That’s awesome. I’m looking forward to getting back out there. Just me, though, right?” 

“Yep,” Alexei says. “Just you, no teammates can skate with you. It just for getting you used to skating again.” 

From there, Alexei explains that Kent will only be allowed to skate for thirty minutes at a time, and he can do it every day he’s here if he likes. They’ll work out a plan for him, to make sure he gets on-ice workouts and will also be working with Alexei. It’ll be more on his body, but that’s the whole point. He’s ready now, Alexei thinks, and seeing the look of pure happiness on Kent’s face is every reason why he does this.

\--

Kent starts his on-ice workouts. 

Alexei sits on the bench, watching as Kent does laps around the rink. Half the time Kent has his eyes closed, as if he’s just trying to take in the glide of his skates against the ice after having been off of it for weeks now. It almost makes Alexei miss being on the ice. (Maybe one day soon, if he has time, he’ll go skating. Maybe it’ll just have to wait until the off season.) 

Alexei mostly just monitors how Kent skates along the ice. The movement of his legs, his turns, anything that might jump out at him that he’d think they should work on, so that Kent can get better and be able to skate with his team, so he can play again. There’s some stiffness to his movements, Alexei notes, when Kent makes his third round of the rink. There’s a little tightness to Kent’s face, like he’s feeling some pain right now. He wants to stop him, but he knows Kent needs to do this. He only gets thirty minutes out on the ice right now, and depending on his progress they’ll up his time in increments of five minutes. 

On Kent’s fifth lap, he notices Kent’s looking at him. He gets a small wave and then a thumbs up. 

“Still got work, Parson!” Alexei yells out at him, brandishing his notebook that’s already filled with notes. Kent merely shrugs and then goes to the center ice and waits as the coach heads out on the ice. 

 

\--

The weeks continue to move forward. Kent starts to make a little bit more progress, but by the end of a full week of ice workouts, Kent ends up being set back by a week. He’s sulky when he comes to his next session with Alexei and Alexei wishes he could fix it, but all he can do is to keep working with him on everything. 

Kent’s especially loud about his frustrations, tossing his bag onto the ground with a loud thump as soon as he walks into the room. 

“You set back one week, not like you set back more than one,” Alexei points out to him. “Look at bright-

“Look at bright side, right?” Kent scoffs. “I feel like I keep getting set backs with this. Only plus side to all of this is somehow, we’re still playoff contenders.” 

“It’ll be okay,” Alexei says, because it will, even if everything seems terrible right now. “Trust me.” As an afterthought he adds, “Should trust team, too.”

“Hey,” Kent looks at Alexei sharply. “I do trust them.” 

“Then know that team is not just you. Team is everyone out there, and with you out, their captain, then they push themselves harder for _you_. So stop acting like world end with you not playing. You get back on ice, you finish season, you play in playoffs.” 

“Okay,” Kent says, seemingly shrinking into himself. “Okay, yeah, yeah. You’re right.”

“Am always right,” Alexei says. “You learn this.” 

“Sure,” Kent merely says. 

\--

Despite the minor set back, Kent starts progressing again after that and a little bit more quickly than he was previously. Alexei starts getting worried at first, unsure if maybe Kent is progressing too quickly and will only set himself back again, and that it’ll turn into a terrible loop. But Alexei knows that Kent’s going to be fine, knows from what they do every session they have that he’s getting Kent on the right track to getting better. Even so, Alexei tries to get Kent to slow down just a little bit, tries to explain to him that it’s not a race, no matter how much he wants to get better. 

It almost feels like he’s always trying to tell Kent this, but Kent is too stubborn to fully learn. 

With Kent getting better and nearing the moment Alexei can clear him, Alexei finds himself both happy and, if he’s honest with himself, a little sad at the idea of not hanging around Kent all of the time. He knows, realistically, that eventually Kent will get better. That’s Alexei’s job, after all. But he didn’t expect to grow to like Kent, especially not in a more than friends way. _That_ is what surprises him. 

And it’s not like Alexei has any idea of how to even broach the idea of seeing each other outside of the arena. The only thing that’s gotten them to spend so much time together is that Alexei’s been Kent’s athletic trainer. It’s been strictly professional - or at least, as professional as one can be when in the presence of one Kent Parson - so bridging that gap now has Alexei fumbling for what to do.

Alexei can easily just ignore it, and they go about their lives afterward, only passing each other in the hallways. For Alexei, that might be better in the long run. He can just ignore his feelings for Kent, and eventually he’ll get over it.

\--

 

The days start to almost bleed into each other after that. It’s a steady schedule of workouts, physical therapy sessions, and on-ice workouts. Kent stops complaining about being injured and seems to start to get a focus about him when it comes to listening and getting better. Alexei’s thankful, because it means he can focus more on the task at hand. The better they work at it, the quicker it is. 

The closer they get to Kent being cleared, the more Alexei notices that Kent’s flirting a lot more with him than he was. Kent’s always been a flirt, even with everyone else in the building, but it just seems _more_ now, especially with Alexei. Some of the things that come out of Kent’s mouth are terrible, very few make Alexei blush, but all of it leaves a smile on Alexei’s face regardless. 

“You terrible flirt,” Alexei ends up telling him. 

Kent’s sprawled out on the mat. His hair is sweaty and sticking to his forehead, and his shirt is just as sweaty. “You love it, though.” Kent smirks.

“You lucky I do,” he says, because he feels like there’s no point in denying that he likes Kent. He doesn’t mind the flirting, even if he’s not sure if Kent’s just doing it because he’s just like that. 

“I’m the luckiest,” Kent tells him as Alexei goes to help him up from the mat. 

\--

 

Kent gets cleared for the ice after the season is already half over. Kent’s ecstatic to hear that he can practice on the ice with his team now. He’s in a no-contact jersey for now, but it’s still more than what he’s had for so long now. 

Alexei goes back to what he was doing before all his time was centered on getting the Aces star player back on the ice. He misses the time spent together, but he’s always known it was only a matter of time.

Alexei doesn’t hear from Kent for a week. Kent’s been working with his coaches and another trainer as he goes from no-contact to contact practice. Alexei’s already heard from the others that Kent got cleared for the next game. He doesn’t expect it at all when he’s sitting at his desk, answering emails when there’s a knock at his door. When he looks up, Kent’s standing in the doorway. 

“Hi,” Kent says. “Can I come in?”

Alexei motions to the room, before turning back to his computer. Kent closes the door behind himself.

Kent’s quiet for several minutes and if Alexei looked at him, he’d probably see him touching everything in the office. Eventually, Kent says, “If you’re busy, I can come back later.” 

“No, is okay.” Alexei pushes away from his desk, turning his chair around until he’s looking right at Kent. “You hurt? Need trainer?”

“No.” Kent shakes his head, then sighs. Kent pushes off from the table with a frustrated sound. “I’m terrible at this, maybe I should just go.” 

Alexei has a feeling - a hope - for where this is going, but he still asks,“Why you here?” 

“See, I’m terrible at this. I can flirt and take people home, but _this_ , I can’t do this.” 

“You can, just try.” 

“Right, okay. I was wondering if you’d go out with me sometime? Dinner, movie, that whole thing. You can maybe meet my cat, too, if you want.” 

“Is serious, meeting your cat.” Alexei smiles.

Kent manages to blush at that, running a hand through his hair. 

“She important lady, I hear,” Alexei adds.

“She is, the best. But um, you didn’t give me an answer.” Kent looks nervous and Alexei could draw this out more, but instead Alexei kisses Kent quickly on the lips. 

“I’ll go on date with you, Kent. You can pick me up at eight tonight, since you have big game tomorrow.” 

“First game back,” Kent agrees. Kent kisses Alexei one more time before heading for the door. He calls over his shoulder that he’ll see Alexei later.

When Alexei first started working with Kent, he didn’t expect any of this. He leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, and smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on tumblr [here](http://alexeiiimashkov). :)


End file.
